Supermicro IPMI View and iKVM Setup (Blank KVM Terminal Solution)

[landS]

A number of Supermicro boards support IPMI View and iKVM over Lan.

 

I recently acquired just such a board - X7SPA-HF-D525 - this will be a guide on what & how to enable the function.

 

IPMI View allows one to monitor sensors, reboot, power down, etc remotely.

• IPMI View may be downloaded from ftp://ftp.supermicro.com/utility/IPMIView/

• Versions are available for Windows, Linux, Java Runtime Environment

• Once installed you can use the View in the applet

• This works out of the box with no additional configuration

• You can instead just point your web browser to your supermicro board's ip address and the system will download a java applet directly!

 

iKVM provides a virtual terminal

• you need not have any keyboard or mouse hooked up to the local machine.  It even supports up to 6 terminals (ALT+F1-F6) just like the native Unraid terminal.

• This allows a user to disconnect their KVM session (via windows, linux, etc) and shut down the windows machine while a process, such as a PreClear, finishes just as if they had access the terminal directly.

• iKVM also allows someone to access bios, mount virtual optical disks, etc!

• This is a subset/function of the IPMI Viewer - accessible from both the Viewer or Web browser.  (Remote Control / Console Redirection / Launch Console)

• iKVM, I have found, requires some additional setup to get working.  You either need to have a PS2 Keyboard and monitor hooked up to the unraid machine, or you need to go into bios, enable headless operation using a local keyboard and mouse.  Once enabled you may shut down the machine, remove the keyboard and monitor, then restart the machine.  This works GREAT!

 

****

If you Google IPMI KVM screen blank with non responsive cursor (or some variation of this) you will find 2 things THAT DO NOT apply and 1 that does. 

 

1 ****

2 bios options need to be made (not headless)

enable  serial console redirection

enable "console redirection (C.R.) after BIOS POST"

This function is to allow the console to be passed through the serial port.  This may be useful in some datacenter, but we are interested in IPMI with iKVM (over Lan1)

 

2****

scripting must be made somewhere in linux

**In /etc/grub.conf, add this to the end of one of the kernel lines:

serial console=ttyS1,19200n8

**Add this to the end of /etc/inittab:

s0:2345:respawn:/sbin/agetty ttyS1 19200

**And add "ttyS1" to the end of /etc/securetty

Guess what, none of these are needed!

 

3****

Java version issues. Ok, this one is a problem.  With IPMI 2.66 and java 7.21 (both 64 and 32 bit under windows 7), the 32 bit version of chrome and internet explorer KVM work fine.  Firefox does not.  Only the 64 bit version of chrome works.  the IPMI Viewer still works fine on all of these, just not KVM (Remote Control / Console Redirection / Launch Console).  I am really not certain why this is, as the KVM is launched in an independent applet / window.  Oh well, when it works, it works GREAT!

[Ford Prefect]

IPMI is independant of the OS installed on the machine.

It even works, when the machine is not booted with an OS.

So no tweaks needed in the OS  at all.

 

...for getting access to the features of IPMI-View and iKVM you CAN use the extra Tool (java based) provided / downloadable from SM.

However, there is a much more convenient way.

 

When IPMI is enabled, the board will have a dedicated IP independent of the OS on one of its LAN ports.

This will either be acquired by DHCP or configured as static in BIOS.

All you need is a computer with a Browser...point it to that IP and see what happens. 

[landS]

Thanks for the quick response - the IPMI works great using either their tool or a browser - the KVM does not.  All I get is a blank/black Terminal with a non responsive cursor when I launch it from the far right IPMI menu tab - no post screens - no unraid terminal - nada.  From goggling I found out about the bios changes and needing to add some lines to linux config/ini files... I had hoped that you've already walked down this path.

[kricker]

The only way I get a remote terminal is to go to:

Remote Control\Console Redirect and launch the java applet it downloads.

 

The remote console window on the main IPMI page hardly ever shows anything. I say hardly, because it has at randoms times, but how and why I do not know.

[Ford Prefect]

What do you mean by "far right IPMI menu tab"?

using the Web based session, the item for iKVM you want is called "Console Redirection" which is behind the "Remote Control" main menu.

That section/menu is right in the middle of the toplevel menu, see:

 

 

Hit "Launch Console" and a java program will be downloaded (accept security warnings and run it) and you will see the same screen as of what you see on the display/monitor connected to that box.

This is a console, with keyboard, not just a screen....this is the iKVM part.

 

 

[landS]

My comment was based on the IPMI Viewer App.

 

When using the Web Gui, clicking the console redirect opens the same Java app as the IPMI Viewer App.

 

Still no Joy.  It sounds like my setup has an issue - I will reach out to supermicro tech support and come back if we find the solution.

 

Thanks again

[BobPhoenix]

My comment was based on the IPMI Viewer App.

 

When using the Web Gui, clicking the console redirect opens the same Java app as the IPMI Viewer App.

 

Still no Joy.  It sounds like my setup has an issue - I will reach out to supermicro tech support and come back if we find the solution.

 

Thanks again

You might try changing your network cable.  I had an issue with my iKVM window it would work but the display would freeze even though the boot had continued on.  I could prove that by closing and reopening it again and seeing a new screen later in the boot process also frozen.  I replaced the network cable on my IPMI connection and it helped quite a bit.  Ultimately I went to new MB (from X7SBE to X9SCM) and my issues went away.

[landS]

Thanks Bob - I will try that too

[landS]

Thanks again, solution found.  I either need a ps2 keyboard and monitor hooked up to the unraid server OR I need to enable headless operation in bios with a ps2 keyboard and monitor hooked up before removing the keyboard and monitor. 

 

Also, the web browser / java version is a little flaky.

 

Anyways, despite this one taking way more time to solve than I had hoped, it now works GREAT!!

[ysss]

Anyone with the Tam Solution's 24 bay supermicro server tried the IPMI card that comes with it?

The spec only says 'kira-100', which comes in 2 flavors.. one with KVM and one without.

I've emailed Andy to inquire which version of the card comes with it and he couldn't tell me...

[landS]

The spec only says 'kira-100', which comes in 2 flavors.. one with KVM and one without.

 

To me, it appears that Kira100 is a KVM chip that is used in a number of products, including Supermicro labeled chips: http://www.raritan.de/downloads/datasheets/de/KIRA-100

 

Worst case - you can pull the Raritan Kira-100 out for a AOC-SIM1U+ ($90 new, $50 used ebay)